Geronimo X Bin Laden – What an Apache hero has to do with the world’s best known terrorist?
In order to report the murder of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to the American President Barack Obama, US Special Forces used the sentence “Geronimo EKIA (Enemy Killed in Action)”.
That was enough to raise the anger of an Apache tribe from Oklahoma.
The reason why that happened is because Geronimo was one of the most important Native American leaders who fought against both Mexico and The United States to defend his people’s land.
His descendants do not want to have his name linked to someone like Bin Laden and all that it represents.
Geronimo Portrait.Foto:BPL. Licenciada Creative Commons Atribuição 2.0 Genérica
Geronimo was born in 1829 and by the year 1872 he refused to stay in an Arizona territory reservation under the US Government surveillance.
He then started leading people off the reservation. He soon became an enemy to be beaten.
In 1886 he was captured and since then kept as a prisoner until 1909, when he died of pneumonia according to Ron Jackson from The Oklahoman newspaper.
Actually, the name “Geronimo” has long been used as a synonym of bravery among US soldiers.
Geronimo Monument.Foto:DiAnn.Licenciada Creative Commons Atribuição 2.0 Genérica
Some stories say that back in the 40’s, one soldier from the parachute division decided to shout “Geronimo” as a way to show his courage before jumping out of the airplane. The soldier got his inspiration from a movie about Geronimo’s life. And Since that day it has been used by US army paratroopers as a motivational yell.
Watch the video below to know a bit more about Geronimo and the Apache people.
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